A Simple Mission
by Justice Ike
Summary: Post Fusion. Samus detaches from the GF after returning to HQ with Adam,whose computer file is deleted as punishment after the BSL incident. Alone and carrying new life,Samus begins to travel,responding to a distress call that puts her life in peril...


**A Simple Mission**

**My first Metroid fanfic. Don't eat me! I've only played Other M,and I've researched a few other things,so take that into consideration. R and R loved!**

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* * *

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_A simple mission._

_That's what it was supposed to be. Had I known I would be trapped in here, fighting for my life, I wouldn't have even risked it. My willingness to help would be my undoing one day, I knew it. Now I'm stuck in this tiny, poorly lit room, sat on the floor, back against a wall, staring at the door. My chest is heaving and it is uncomfortably stuffy in here – or I could be burning from trying to run; it's hard to tell. _

_Not that it matters. All I know is that I'm in agony and if I don't get out soon, I'm going to die one way or another._

_Now I think, "One way or another"? And it makes me wonder, just how the heck did I get myself wound up in the situation? As another wave of pain assaults my brain, I close my eyes, and recall in my mind the events leading up to my present situation...

* * *

_

I had been travelling in my gunship through non-hostile space for what seemed like forever. Ever since the BSL incident, and my issuing of a new gunship by the Galactic Federation (without Adam for a computer), I had been travelling all over the place, but never in Galactic space. After being an ally with them for so long, one might ask me why I now refused to associate with them.

That was simple.

I was tired of battling the corruption within the ranks of the Federation, tired of seeing things the Federation government had failed to spot. And, above all, the Federation had taken Adam away from me, not once, but twice: once in life where he sacrificed himself to destroy unfreezable metroids in Sector Zero of the Bottle Ship, itself a creation of a renegade group within the Federation, and the second time when the computer memory file of his personality was destroyed along with my old gunship, and I was given a new gunship and practically exiled, of my own accord, from the Galactic Federation. There was no way I was working for them again, even if they wanted me back. I was going to become a completely freelance bounty hunter, answerable only to myself. I would hunt down who _I _chose and kill them however _I_ wanted.

I sighed quietly, putting the ship into autopilot. Travelling for so long by myself was _so_ lonely. Well, I still had Adam's helmet for company, the one thing I had managed to keep for all this time, but it wasn't the same as the real person or even the computer. I leaned back in my chair, resting my eyes, until I felt a sharp pain in my ribs, like I had just been punched there, which startled me.

It was then I remembered that I hadn't _truly_ been alone all this time. All the while, I had been carrying new life within me; I was nearly eight months gone now, if I remembered correctly. The child growing within me was the reason why I had been increasingly going around in my Zero Suit or my Fusion Suit instead of my newly fixed Varia Suit – my Power Suit variations were not designed with me being pregnant in mind, and were therefore not designed to be flexible enough to accommodate a growing baby bump. I couldn't help but laugh at this fact. The Chozo must have thought I would never settle anywhere.

I then sobered quickly, realising that, before I found out I was pregnant, I would probably have never settled, not truly. Which was why I was heading where I was going; a planet outside of Galactic space, but far away from hostile space, a planet inhabited by a small clan of Chozo, called CHZ-87. I did not know if Old Bird, my mentor, was now living on CHZ-87, but I knew another influential Chozo in my younger life, Xenos, had fled from Zebes to live there. In fact, it was he who had contacted me out of the blue a few months ago, asking me how I was and that I should come to CHZ-87 to see him again sometime. It wasn't long after I had left the Federation and I had found out I was pregnant; I hadn't yet began travelling properly. I wasn't really ready to talk to Xenos then, but a few days after initial contact, it all became too much and I told him everything. Xenos being Xenos, that's to say, his usual, caring (almost great uncle like) self, urged me to give up bounty hunting and go settle down somewhere. Even though I knew he was right, I told him I would work for a while longer; that when I was nearly full term, I would return back to the folds of Chozo life, and raise my son or daughter in the ways of the Chozo. He informed me I was insane – again, he was probably right – laughed, and told me to be careful. We then said our goodbyes, with me saying I couldn't wait to see him again proper, and him wishing me good luck and his looking forward to seeing me in a few months, stating that he was sure to get my staying on CHZ-87 cleared with the elders. After that, I had ended the communication, a smile on my face.

As I rested my eyes once more, an echo of that same smile from my memory spread across my features. Settling down somewhere familiar didn't actually seem so bad an idea after all, not anymore. I mean, yes, I'd still do some jobs every once in a while when my child was older and more able to look after themselves, but they would be few and far between. I had a feeling that this space flight would be my last for a while, but as long as my child was safe, I'd gladly give up anything for them.

I unconsciously shut my eyes a little tighter, carefully sliding my free hand onto the curve of my enlarged belly, the three hooks on my arm - that the metroid vaccine against the X had given me - resting neatly, following the curve of my belly perfectly. Inside me, my child was kicking strongly, which I could feel through the palm of my hand. I felt a slight contraction, causing me to hiss a little on my next inhale, but it didn't worry me. I got these contractions nearly every day now, little one off events, my body's way of telling me it was nearly time. I relaxed more into my chair, sighing contently; as long as I gave birth in a safe place, either on CHZ-87 or here on my gunship, I didn't mind when it happened.

Yawning, I soon found myself drifting off to sleep, my ship inching ever closer to the Chozo colony. Being a pregnant woman was so exhausting, but I knew that when I finally became a mother, there would be no rest for me at all. No rest for the Hunter.

* * *

It wasn't long before I was rudely jolted awake by the sound of alarms and the sight of flashing lights on my computer panel. Groggily, I stared at my screen, reading the message flashing upon it and was fully awakened when I realised it was a distress call, Level Delta, the lowest level of distress, the highest being Baby's Cry. A Delta level distress usually indicated a low level problem, like power failure or engine failure. At first, I wanted to leave the call for someone else to pick up, but, even though I couldn't have cared less about the Federation right now, I still felt bound by its protocol. And protocol stated if my ship wasn't in an emergency itself, I had to answer a distress call. One look at my former CO's helmet confirmed my choice. I knew in my heart if Adam had been exiled with me, he'd have told me to go help; though I was certain, however, it would have been _after_ lecturing me about how I shouldn't even be out here in my state. So, it was settled, then. I decided that this call was of little risk to me and my unborn child. I changed the ship's course as if this diversion had always been a part of my flight plan, and I steered my ship back into deep space.

It was only a few hours before my ship's scanners detected the other vessel, and about half an hour after that before I picked it up in the distance visually. As my gunship neared it, I could see the other vessel was stationary. Its use of only a select few emergency lights dotted around its hull added further weight to my previous thoughts; that the distress call had been made because of a power failure on the vessel. An incoming call to my ship would soon confirm my thoughts. I pressed the series of buttons that would allow me to answer the call. Everything after that became a blur of formality.

"This is RS-13 to all nearby spacecraft; we have a situation, Delta, Delta." A masculine voice hummed through my ears. Despite being away from the Federation for so long, I hadn't forgotten any of the protocol. Delta, Delta was code for a Level Delta distress call, and RS-13 was the code name for the ship, denoting it was a Research Station.

"RS-13, this is The Hunter, what is the nature of your emergency?" I replied back, trying not to sound too irritated at the fact I had diverted off my course. Having no true code name for my ship, I had taken to calling my ship 'The Hunter', which was apt as it was what the Space Pirates called me.

"RS-13 to The Hunter, our ship's engines have failed, and we are running off emergency power. We need help to get back it online before our emergency systems fail completely." The same voice described the situation.

"Understood. Where is the nearest landing point?"

"Right Wing, Bay One. Our facility leader should be meeting you down there as soon as you land."

Scanning the ship, I soon located the landing point. "I should be with you in approximately five to ten minutes." I assured whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Thank you, RS-13 out." The line cut off and I was alone once more.

* * *

After painstakingly navigating my ship to Bay One, I let out a hollow sigh as I felt a gentle bump signalling I had touched down inside RS-13. Grabbing a gun holster, I stuffed my Paralyser inside it, before tying the holster onto my right thigh and rising from my seat. Even though I was sure these people were perfectly harmless, experience told me not to take things on face value. I think the expression Old Bird taught me was _'Never judge a book by its cover; looks can be deceiving.' _I had learnt the hard way that this expression was true; it was always good to be even just a little bit cautious, and with a baby growing inside of me, I was going to be doubly cautious.

I made my way to the rear of my ship, stepping on a glowing, circular panel, which lowered down. As it hit the floor of the landing bay, I tentatively stepped out, looking around for the leader of the facility.

"Behind you." An amused voice shot from behind me.

I whirled around with a start. Before me was a diminutive humanoid mutant who I completely dwarfed. As I walked up towards him, I realised he was just over half my height. I wanted to laugh so badly. Surely _this_ wasn't the facility leader?

Again, the creature seemed to read my mind. "Sorry, our leader couldn't come down to meet you. I'm Zhorrus Kaiel. We spoke over the com." He held out one of his right hands, which threw me off, not just because he had two pairs of arms, but also because I was used to shaking hands with my left hand.

"Samus." I had to half crouch down to receive his handshake, as stooping was out of the question. I neglected to give out my second name – I didn't deem it necessary. Zhorrus didn't seem to mind though. I let go of his hand, straightening myself out, before staring back down at him.

"Right. I had better take you to our facility's leader." Bright emerald eyes received my gaze, not in the least bit intimidated by my towering height. "Follow me." He turned on the heel of his foot, leading the way. I followed him wordlessly, sticking close to him. The last thing I wanted to do was lose him, and despite his flaming crimson hair sticking out like a sore thumb, his small size would make him easy to lose.

We twisted and turned down many corridors. Despite being vertically challenged, Zhorrus moved at a blistering speed, so fast, I had to stride to keep up with him. I was relieved when we finally reached a lift and I was able to rest my legs, even if it meant I had to stand up while doing so. I was a little annoyed that a creature half my size had worn me out. Pregnant women should _never_ be made to walk like this.

"Are you all right?" I was snapped out of my mind rant by Zhorrus politely speaking somewhere below me.

"I'm fine." I suppressed my irritation. "Though I wish you'd go slower."

"Having trouble keeping up?"

I sensed an undercurrent of smugness in his tone. If I wasn't encumbered, I would have shown him big time. I merely grunted in response, before he continued.

"It's fine, not many people can. Honestly, Blackheart should've appointed me as security. But as you see, I don't quite measure up." He laughed at his own pun, before becoming serious. "Let me warn you about him. He's a stubborn guy. He might be a bit rough with you. Also, I doubt he was expecting you to be..." Zhorrus trailed off.

"A woman?" I asked, finishing his sentence. So, this Blackheart guy wasn't so fond of women, then. I found myself inwardly sighing. Neither of us uttered a word after that.

"_This elevator has arrived at the Command Sector." _The sound of a computer recorded voice filled the elevator as it came to a stop. Both Zhorrus and I stepped out of it and he motioned for me to follow him. It wasn't long before we were both standing outside of a huge metal door, guarded by two security personnel.

"Your weapon, Samus." He motioned to my gun holster with his upper left arm.

I handed it to one of the guards without argument, and they opened the door for us. As I stepped into the grand room after Zhrorrus, for some strange reason, I began to feel nervous. Inside of me, my child kicked as if to reassure me. Everything seemed to be fine until a leg shot out at my stomach. I barely had time to dodge as I scowled in the direction of my attacker.

"What the...?" My protest was cut short by a harsh laugh and the leg withdrew. A four legged creature stepped from the shadows, with his arms folded across his human torso. I eyed him up and down. He didn't look far dissimilar from a centaur, except his lower body was more reptilian than horse.

"Hmm, you're quick." Amused, luminous eyes stared at me. I wasn't the slightest bit impressed.

"This is Kyrrn Blackheart." Zhorrus introduced him to me. "Sir, this is Samus."

"Samus who?" Kyrrn snorted through his nose.

"Just Samus." I could tell the diminutive humanoid was wishing he could be elsewhere. I decided it would be wise to spare him further scrutiny from Kyrrn.

"Aran." I held out a hand. It was my turn to get picked on.

"Pahaha. That was your greeting back there, so put your hand down, silly woman." He laughed again, making my blood boil. Zhorrus had warned me he was bad, but I had no idea he would be _this _rude towards me. I lowered my hand slowly, clenching my fists.

"Just remember that I came to rescue your ship, and that I can easily leave you to your fate if I so chose." I threatened.

"Of course. I was just making a joke with you." Kyrrn turned, walking over to the large window that allowed him to view the entire top half of his ship and the stars beyond. "Reptaur jokes, wasted on you."

I decided it would be best to change the subject before I decided to throttle him. "So, what exactly is the nature of your situation?"

The Reptaur's tone immediately became serious, but he didn't turn to face me. "I trust Zhorrus here told you our situation?"

"Yes sir, I did." The small humanoid at my side replied formally.

"Then no more needs to be said. I need you to go to the main generator room on C Deck and restore its power. Think you can handle it?"

Goodness, I was starting to hate this guy's attitude towards me. "If I didn't think I could repair a simple power problem, then I wouldn't be here. But may I ask why your engineers can't do it?"

"Because, Aran, they are busy trying to make sure the emergency systems don't fail." Kyrrn turned back to face me. "So, move along. Zhorrus will show you the way."

Zhorrus made to move, but I stopped him with a wave of my hand. "On one condition; you change your attitude towards me, because, quite frankly, it's starting to piss me off! Just because I came to help you, doesn't mean I have to stay, so just back off, would you?"

Kyrrn frowned at me, but my protest had the desired effect. He made no effort to retort back at me. As I turned, I smiled slightly.

"Come on, Zhorrus. Show me the way to Deck C." I nudged the humanoid life form next to me, and he began to walk forwards, with me not far behind. We exited the room and I retrieved my weapon from the guards, leaving behind a very flustered and annoyed Kyrrn. Getting inside the lift, Zhorrus wordlessly punched the button that said Deck C as I took my position behind him. I knew he was in shock from witnessing all of that, and I suspected that was the first time Zhorrus had seen someone stand up to Kyrrn and get away with it. I mentally smiled as the elevator finally sparked into life, taking us down to Deck C.

* * *

We were not that far from Deck C, when Zhorrus broke the silence that had lingered between us since we had stepped into the lift at the Command Sector.

"So, you are a bounty hunter, hmm?" He asked me.

I made no reply, but slowly nodded, inhaling sharply. Zhorrus looked like he was about to ask me another question until he gazed up at me. I had tried to hide my pained expression, but I was certain it had not escaped his notice. He looked me once up and down, a thoughtful expression on his face, before he opened his mouth again.

"How far gone are you?"

The question uttered so softly made me jump. My left hand instinctively shot to my swollen belly.

"I apologise, I didn't mean to pry..." Zhorrus frowned slightly. "I just couldn't help but notice how you defended yourself from Blackheart earlier."

A sigh escaped from my lips. "Nearly eight months." I told him bluntly.

He looked me up and down again, looking like he was trying to find his voice; before he could, the elevator had ground to a halt and we found ourselves traversing yet more corridors.

* * *

Zhorrus wasted no time in guiding me a sealed off area of the research station. I surmised that this area was where the main generator must be. After explaining to the sentries why we were here, Zhorrus opened a hatch that led past the sealed area where the generator was and we stepped through it. He then extracted a small torch from a pouch on his suit and flicked it on, aiming the resulting beam of light at the looming hunk of metal that shared the room with us.

"I hope you have experience with generators, Samus." There was an air of hopefulness to his tone.

"I've seen one of these." I replied quietly. "Never had the misfortune of repairing one, though. I heard these generators are complicated, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Is this the computer terminal?" I gestured to a flat touch screen.

"That's the power monitor, the computer terminal is the larger screen to the left of it, if I remember back to the little engineering training I had."

I stooped down slightly, powering up the touch screen from the emergency power and tapping a few buttons. "You wanted to be an engineer?"

"Sure did." Zhorrus nodded in the affirmative. "But...Blackheart thought I had more potential in communications, and so put me into training. He cited it was because I had a natural tendency to stay calm, even in the worst of situations. But then he also said my calmness to everything also bugged the heck out of him, so you know. One thing you learn about Blackheart is that he never praises without being critical of you."

I made a mental note of this information, before tapping a few more buttons. "All right, this should work now..." I tapped another button, and the machine hummed into life. We both held our breath until the machine cut off again about thirty seconds later.

"Or maybe not." The small humanoid beside me sunk visibly, becoming even smaller, _if that were possible._

"Damn you worthless pile of crap!" I slammed a fist down on the terminal angrily, and I was about to do it again when two hands caught my wrist in gentle, but firm grip. My sapphire eyes darted over to Zhorrus, whose own emerald eyes met my gaze of shock.

"Hey, cool it. Getting angry with a machine won't solve anything. Besides..." he paused, releasing my wrist, an amused expression etched on his face, "You don't need stressing out, not with the baby and everything." He indicated my swollen torso.

Normally, I would have taken offence to someone outside of a command structure dictating what I should do, but I knew he was right and I was about to say so, when the generator once again hummed into life. And stayed on.

"See, it just needed a bit of time. The poor thing's getting on a bit." Zhorrus let out a high pitched laugh which made my ears ring. "We better wait for the lights to come on."

"Mmm." I nodded in agreement, but I would shortly regret doing so.

As the lights sparked into life, my expression turned to one of horror. Before us, a pure black creature made of slime stared at us with gleaming red eyes of pure evil. In shape, the creature wasn't too dissimilar to my arch nemesis, Ridley. I froze completely, barely registering the fact Zhorrus had clung to my leg in fear. The corrupted creature let out a roar before lumbering towards us at speed. It was only now I regained my composure and I activated my Fusion Suit, aiming my Arm Cannon at the creature while backing off at speed towards the hatch. Deeming myself close enough, I picked Zhorrus up effortlessly by both his right arms and chucked him through the hatch before sealing him out of the room and trapping me inside with the creature. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him hammering on the glass in protest of my actions. I gave him a nod of reassurance, before the creature was upon me and I was forced to clumsily dodge one of its attacks.

I knew if this became a drawn out battle, I would lose.

* * *

_My eyes fluttered open. I remember now. I had gone to fix the generator, and as the lights came on, we were ambushed by this creature that looked remarkably similar to Ridley. I remember being rooted on the spot for a moment as I recoiled in memory. Post-traumatic stress disorder, I think it is called. I did not like to acknowledge the fact I had this condition, preferring to hide behind an emotionless mask of stone; I didn't want others knowing I was weak. After the beast had begun charging at us, however, the only thing I could think of was getting us both out of there. But because of the speed of the creature, I knew immediately only one of us was getting out right then, and despite the fact I was eight months pregnant, I at least had weapons to fight with, and Zhorrus had none. It wasn't much of a contest – he was leaving that room first whether he wanted to or not. His disbelief as I chucked him out of the room...it wasn't going to be something I'd forget quickly. His face would linger in my mind, as all my memories did, eternally._

_I don't really remember what happened after that. My mind just launched itself into the fight and every other thought was pushed to the back of my mind. The only thing I sort of remember is the unnatural speed of the creature; the rest of the fight is a haze, until it managed to pin me down for a few seconds. Then, my mind came back to reality.

* * *

_

I barely dodged another of the creature's attacks, quickly firing off a Plasma Beam shot from my Arm Cannon. The shot passed through the creature, exploding when it impacted the wall behind it. It stunned the beast for a few seconds, but I had caused no harm to it other than perhaps slowing it down a little. The corrupted creature was still blindingly fast and once again it charged at me. I fired another shot, but the creature kept coming and I was forced to dodge, avoiding its charge. I didn't notice it quickly whip around again; the first thing I knew about it was a paw slamming into my side and I was sent flying onto my back painfully, the breath knocked out of me. As I desperately tried to rise, I felt a searing, burning sensation in my right shoulder which stunned my arm, rendering me unable to raise my Arm Cannon and defend myself. The pain was unbearable, but the most frightening thing was that I was pinned to the ground and unable to do anything about it. I was completely at the creature's mercy.

As something tore free from my shoulder, I realised the creature had stabbed me with its tail. My vision was blurring, and I was finding it difficult to maintain my Fusion Suit. The creature roared triumphantly, and my vision cleared just in time to see it raise its barbed tail once again, poised to strike me, only this time, poison appeared to be dripping from its tip. My arm muscles unlocked, allowing me to charge up and fire off a Super Missile at the creature's tail just as it bought it to bear on me, blowing it clean off. The creature recoiled, shrieking in agony, allowing me to roll onto my feet and stumble towards another door that came off the room. A swing of one of the creature's wings forced me to half dive into the room, punching the switch that shut and locked the door as I did so. In a rage, the creature launched a frenzied charge towards the door, but it locked just in time, and I heard it rebound off the door in frustration. I had no idea how strong the lock was nor how long it would last, but it didn't matter. My main priority was finding something to stem the flow of blood from my wound. My second priority was finding an alternative exit out of this room.

I staggered about in the dark for a bit, soon locating a medical kit and using my free hand, I extracted a bandage and tied it onto my shoulder tightly. The wound now throbbed in pain, but it was nothing compared to the previous pain I had just endured. I then leaned back, accidentally triggering the lighting system for the room. A dull blue light flickered into life, allowing me to scan freely around the room, which I realized was no bigger than my sleeping quarters on my gunship. But that was not the thing that bewildered me the most, no. That fear was reserved for the fact, much to my dismay, that the room I was in only had one door; the way I had just come from. I was trapped in here until either someone rescued me or the beast claimed me. That was when a little bit of panic set in, and my breathing became more rapid and shallower. I desperately tried to calm myself; stress was going to do neither my baby nor myself any good. It didn't take me long to realise I was too late to calm myself now. I felt my whole entire abdomen contract intensely, like I was being squeezed in the talons of Ridley. My legs gave way underneath me, and I found myself on my knees. After getting stabbed only moments earlier, I didn't think pain could get worse.

How foolish I was.

I crawled over to the back wall of the cramped room, dragging myself with my arms as best as I could, before settling down on the floor near the wall, back leant against it, panting laboriously. I rested my Arm Cannon across my heaving belly, and my left hand on the floor, keeping my eyes trained on the door. In between my hitched breaths, I could still hear the beast trying to break through the door to get at..._us. _The pain seemed to come in cycles, intensifying and fading away about every fifteen to twenty minutes. These contractions, I knew somehow, were not the kind that prepared my body for having a child; these were the contractions of early labour. It took about five minutes for that notion to sink in, as well as the distinct possibility I could be having my child here. Shifting into a more comfortable position, I swapped the placement of my arms, now resting my left arm on my distended abdomen and my right on the floor beside me, still watching the door for signs of the creature or the faint hope of rescue.

* * *

_That same, hunched up pose was the exact position I found myself in now. To say I was in agony would have been putting it mildly. The contractions were torture; they were only getting worse and by that, I mean getting closer together and more intense. The last place I wanted to give birth was in a dimly lit, cramped and stuffy room with a creature outside that wanted nothing less than my body to tear through, but here I am now facing the real possibility of having to do so, and to do so alone. The whole situation might have been a little less terrifying if I had someone here with me, even if they were stood there doing nothing. In a brief instant, my thoughts immediately turned to Adam and how I wished he was here, then to my close friend, Anthony, who I had left behind after my exile, and finally to Xenos, the Chozo who acted like a great uncle to me (since he was Old Bird's brother, and I saw Old Bird as both a mentor and grandfather to me, it would make him equal to a great uncle in terms of human relations). I was so lost in thought, I did not notice that the formerly endless pounding of the door had ceased, until I realised my breath, as heavy as it might be, sounded awfully loud to my ears._

_I tried to hold my breath for a moment to hear what is going on outside; not easy when you are in labour and your body requires every last bit of oxygen it can get. Luckily, thanks to my Chozo training, I am able to hold my breath for long enough to ascertain that it is completely silent outside. Had the creature given in? Not that it would have mattered now – I knew I wouldn't be able to stand without aid; such was the intensity of my pain._

_After what seemed like forever, I heard distorted shouts, gun fire and the shriek of a dying beast, before, finally, a soft tapping sound against the door. I drew back towards the wall behind me, further hunching myself tighter. I heard a hiss of air as the door was forced open from the outside and I raised my Arm Cannon to the silhouette that entered the room, which was far too tall to be Zhorrus, and didn't have enough legs to be Kyrrn. As the figure stepped into the light a bit more, I noticed it was wearing Galactic Federation marine armour. What were they doing here, I wondered, but I wasn't allowed to wonder for long, as another contraction took hold, forcing me to lower my weapon and slump my head a little._

"_**Princess?"**_

_I knew that concerned voice anywhere. I felt an armoured hand cup the base of my helmet, forcing me to look at the newcomer._

"_**Princess? Are you all right?"**_

"_**Anthony..." **__I let out in a single breath after a pause._

_The marine raised the visor of his helmet, revealing a familiar dark skinned face that smiled reassuringly at me. __**"Yup. Can't get rid of me so easily." **__His tone then became more serious. __**"We need to get you outta here. Can you stand?"**_

_I shook my head. __**"Not really, no. Not without help."**_

"_**And how close are your contractions?"**_

"_**Close enough." **__I puffed breathlessly._

"_**All right, hang in there, Princess." **__He smiled again, motioning someone over, who turned out to be Zhorrus. He then began to confer to him in a low tone. __**"She needs to go to the med bay, right now. Can you guide us there?"**_

"_**Of course." **__Zhorrus nodded, before turning on his heel and exiting the room._

"_**Okay, Princess. Time to get you out of here." **__Anthony rose, holding out a hand, which I gratefully took, allowing him to pull me up. __**"That's it; put your left arm over my shoulders." **__He had to stoop to accommodate me, but he didn't seem to mind. He put his arm on my back to further support me. __**"All right, we'll go as fast as you are comfortable walking. If you want to stop, just tell me and we'll stop. You ready?"**_

_I merely nodded, and we began to stumble slowly forwards.

* * *

_

_It had taken what seemed like forever to get to the lift and travel up to the deck the medical bay was on. During that time, we had stopped not once. I knew if I stopped, I'd never be able to start again. We were traversing a familiar corridor, with Zhorrus just ahead of us. I was trying to think why it was so familiar, but Anthony distracted me from my thoughts and my pain._

"_**How did you end up like this?" **__He asked me quietly. __**"I mean, this isn't like you, wanting to settle down, have a family..."**_

"_**Adam." **__I interrupted him._

"_**Oh. I'm sorry, Samus. About what happened to him, I mean..."**_

"_**Don't be. We both disobeyed orders." **__I hissed unintentionally, wincing as another wave of pain brewed. __**"Anyway...how...did you get here?"**_

"_**Got the distress signal."**_

_So, Anthony had come here on a ship, too. Which reminded me..._

"_**Where are you taking me?"**_

_Anthony gave me a look of surprise. __**"To the medical bay, of course."**_

_I shook my head at him. __**"I want to go to my gunship."**_

"_**Samus..."**_

"_**Please, Anthony!" **__I begged him. __**"Besides, we aren't that far from the landing bay, anyway..." **__A contraction stopped me midsentence. This one had been the strongest yet, and if weren't for Anthony's support, I'd have collapsed completely._

"_**Whoa, steady...Samus!" **__He moved to support me, before calling to Zhorrus. __**"Zhorrus! I need your help!"**_

_The humanoid came over immediately. __**"What is it?"**_

"_**We aren't going to make it to the medical bay. We are gonna have to take her to her gunship!" **__Anthony explained quickly._

_Without wasting another minute, all three of us were soon heading towards Bay One; to my gunship.

* * *

_

_After sending Zhorrus to get a medic, Anthony set me on the floor, getting towels and blankets to make the area I was sat in more comfortable, before wrapping a blanket around me. I suppose that was his way of allowing me some dignity in what was a much undignified situation. With the blanket around me, I was able to dematerialize both my Fusion and Zero Suits, leaving myself in just my undergarments, which was just as well, as this child of mine was not going to wait any longer._

"_**Anthony..!" **__I tried to warn him._

"_**Don't worry, I'm here, Princess." **__Anthony crouched down beside me. I grabbed one of his hands and gave it a tight squeeze, before I submitted to the contractions and began the long task of childbirth.

* * *

_

_A couple of hours later, the sound of high pitched squeals filled my gunship as Anthony handed me my crying newborn wrapped in some blankets he had found. I cradled the infant in my arms, close to my chest. Without checking, I knew I had a son._

"_**Congratulations, Princess!" **__He applauded my efforts._

"_**I should thank you, really. If you hadn't rescued me in time..." **__I began._

"_**No sweat, Princess. So, you thought of a name yet?"**_

_I hadn't, but it took me two seconds to decide on a name._

"_**Adam." **__I replied, smiling. __**"Adam Anthony Aran."**_

_Anthony smiled back at me, proud of the fact I had named my child at least partially after him. __**"He would have been proud of you, you know."**_

_I leaned towards my closest friend, and gave him a peck on the cheek._

"_**And likewise, of you. From the bottom of my heart, Anthony, thank you for helping me get through this."**_

_The marine stretched his arm and pulled me into a gentle one armed hug, and all three of us sat there in silence. Leaning my head on Anthony's shoulder, I shut my eyes, completely content with the world. I knew Anthony was right. If Adam could see us, he would have been proud._

_I hoped in my heart, then, that somewhere, he was watching us and smiling with pride._


End file.
